Minn. woman injured in Mexico boat-whale collision

By
Anne Millerbernd
Star Tribune

March 13, 2015 — 8:36pm

, Associated Press - ApThis Wednesday, March 11, 2015 photo provided by the Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente (PROFEPA), shows the boat that collided with a whale near the beach resort of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

A Minnesota woman was injured when a whale collided with a boat carrying tourists off the coast of Cabo San Lucas on Wednesday, killing one tourist, windomnews.com reported.

Kim Armstrong, of Windom, was on vacation in Mexico with her sisters when the incident occurred, her husband, Todd Armstrong, told windomnews.com. She was sitting next to the 35-year-old Canadian woman who was killed in the collision.

Armstrong said his wife told him that she was feeling fine after the incident, but that her neck was sore. Doctors later determined her neck had been fractured. Armstrong told windomnews.com that she had surgery Thursday and that she was “doing well.”

In Mexico, the Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection said that the boat was carrying nine tourists on a snorkeling trip and that it was near shore when the whale surfaced and crashed into the side of the boat. At least one other person on the boat was injured.

Photos showed the open boat, about 25 feet long with twin outboard motors, apparently undamaged.

The Canadian victim was Jennifer Karren of Calgary, according to news reports.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Anne Millerbernd is a University of Minnesota student on assignment for the Star Tribune.